Least Sandpiper
| Erolia minutilla |
This species has greenish legs and a short thin dark bill. Breeding adults are brown with dark brown streaks on top and white underneath. They have a light line above the eye and a dark crown. In winter, Least Sandpipers are grey above. The juveniles are brightly patterned above with rufous colouration and white mantle stripes.
Their breeding habitat is the northern North American continent on tundra or in bogs. They migrate in flocks to the southern United States and northern South America. They occur as very rare vagrants in western Europe.[3]
These birds forage on mudflats, picking up food by sight, sometimes by probing. They mainly eat small crustaceans, insects and snails. (Wikipedia)
Once again I was at Bong which is rapidly becoming a favorite haunt because I seem to see something new every time I go (I know that luck probably has limits, but I am going to enjoy it while I can). There is a small lake with a beach that we wondered down to and to our surprise we spotted this small group of Least Sandpipers. I had to walk past them in order to get the light right for pictures and I was afraid they would fly away ... but, as you see, they were not the "least" concerned about me.
Solitary Sandpiper
the Solitary Sandpiper is usually seen singly as it migrates through the state, shunning the more gregarious nature of most other sandpipers. Also unlike nearly all other sandpipers, they don't nest on the ground, but instead use old songbird nests in trees. Solitary Sandpipers sometimes practice nest parasitism, laying their eggs in the nests of different species of birds.
We saw many other birds this day, some I have posted already and others that are yet to come. It was a great day for a Birder/photography fanatic.
Hope your day is full of sunshine :)
final.jpg)
.jpg)
